The wife of Rep. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican, died suddenly Tuesday night.
Eleanor Carol Leavell Barr, 39, who went by Carol, died at the family’s home in Lexington, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. The couple married in 2008 and have two young daughters.
“At this time of tremendous grief and pain, we ask for prayers for our beautiful, dear and precious Carol, the greatest, most selfless and giving wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend anyone could ever have,” the congressman wrote in a statement after the publication of this story. “We also ask for the love and prayers for Carol’s greatest legacy – her loving and devoted daughters Elanor and Mary Clay – through whom Carol’s extraordinary life, high character and irrepressible spirit will continue.”
“In this moment of profound grief and heartbreak, we are so grateful for the gift and blessing of Carol’s life, for her strong faith in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for the comfort of fond memories and her victory in heaven and for all those who have surrounded Carol’s family, the girls and I with beautiful expressions of love, compassion and sympathy,” he continued.
Before her death, Leavell Barr worked for Pfizer and had previously served as the executive director for the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship in Lexington. Andy Barr has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013. He is currently running for reelection.
“While we may disagree politically, we’re both family men, and I can’t fathom the pain he must be experiencing right now,” Josh Hicks, Barr’s likely opponent in the fall, said.
A number of Kentucky legislators, including Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, state House Speaker David Osborne, and Mac Brown, the chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky, expressed their condolences on social media.
